Climate Adaptation Engineering Strategies for Managing Infrastructure

Despite the best mitigation efforts to reduce emissions, the latest research shows that global emissions trends are on track for future temperature increases of 4-5 degrees Celsius by 2100.  The study says that a high-end emissions scenario is a future of extreme climatic events.

Climate change will bring more extreme climatic events, and increases in atmospheric CO2, temperature, and humidity will accelerate the corrosion of concrete and steel structures while accelerating timber decay.

The study, “Climate Adaptation Engineering and Risk-based Design and Management of Infrastructure,” examines the impacts of climate change on infrastructure and people, and applies climate adaptation engineering to address these impacts. 

“Climate adaptation engineering involves estimating the risks, costs and benefits of climate adaptation strategies (retrofitting, strengthening, enhanced designs) and assessing when climate adaptation becomes economically viable”.  According to the study, a risk-based approach is the best adaptation strategy for designing and maintaining existing infrastructure.

The study presents five case studies that apply climate adaptation engineering and a risk-based approach:

• The resilience of water and power—interdependent infrastructure to floods. The study examines the interdependence of these infrastructures in terms of the services they provide and how extreme events, such as flooding, can disrupt service and affect consumer satisfaction. It also examines the most cost-effective solution to ensure continuous service of the interdependent infrastructure during disruptions.
• Strengthening Housing in Queensland against Extreme Wind. The study examines future changes in wind strength and the design or retrofitting of houses to accommodate them, reducing vulnerability.
• Cost-effectiveness in adapting reinforced concrete structures exposed to chloride ingress. Weather conditions, particularly high humidity, speed up steel corrosion in concrete. The case study discusses various engineering designs in relation to climate projections and the method for selecting the most cost-effective adaptation measure.
• Designing on and offshore wind energy installations to allow for predicted evolutions in wind and wave loading and
• Impact and adaptation to coastal inundation.

The study provides valuable information on adaptation engineering designs while integrating climate science and modelling to achieve the most cost-effective adaptation approaches.

The case studies demonstrate the practical application of climate adaptation engineering, which is helpful for those involved in urban planning, infrastructure management, policymakers, and related fields.

To read the entire study, click on the link below: